Rural-delivery mail-pouch.



fl vitweooeo @331 No; 864,282. I PATENTED AUG. 27, 1907.

J. W. 'ALTMYER. RURAL DELIVERY MAIL POUCH.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1906. RENEWED JULY 9, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED AUG. 2'7 1907;

J.,W. ALTMYER. RURAL DELIVERY MAIL POUCH. APPLIOATION IILEDjBBJs, 190a.xmmwnn JULY 9. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. ALTMYER, OF CENTRAL CITY, IOWA.

RURAL-DELIVERY MAIL-POUCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1907.

Application filed February 23, 1906, Serial No. 302,548. Renewed July 9,1907. Serial No. 382,930-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that JOHN W. ALTMYEn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Central City, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, hasinvented a new and useful Rural-Delivery Mail-Pouch, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to means for holding mail for its more convenientdelivery by the carrier to the patrons.

The principal object is to provide a novel pouch of a simple nature thatmay be made with a large number of pockets to separately confine themail of the different patrons, so that it cannot become mixed oroverlooked, said pouch being adapted for ready mounting on a vehicle inconvenient relation to the carrier, being so arranged that it may beplaced in the office and there filled, and furthermore being completelycollapsible and eXpansible to accommodate itself to the varying amountof mail placed therein.

A. further object is to provide a structure wherein the contents can beprotected from the weather, and also to provide means therein to receiveand hold stamps, the mail collected, and the like.

In the drawings:Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of theinvention, showing the same supported on vehicle. Fig. 2 is a top planview of the same, the front and rear walls being shown in section. Fig.3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 4 is a vertical crosssectional view. Fig. .5 is a vertical cross sectional view of a slightlymodified form of structure. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the same, thecovers being illustrated in section. i

Similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

In the embodiment disclosed in the first four figures, front and rearouter walls 7 and 8 are employed, these outer walls being preferablycomposed of reinforcing plates or sheets 9 of comparatively stiffmaterial covered by casings 10 of canvas, leather or the like. Betweenthe front and rear walls is a plurality of flexible intermediate walls11 arranged parallel to the front and rear walls, said intermediatewalls being connected to one another and to the outer walls bycollapsible end walls 12, having bellows folds. Partitions 13 connectthe walls, and bridge the spaces between them. A plurality of thesepartitions connect each set of adjacent walls so as to form a pluralityof pockets 14 between each of said sets. The partitions 13 arepreferably formed of separate strips sewed or otherwise secured to thewalls and having bellows folds. Only two of the partitions are locatedbetween the front wall 7 and the first intermediate wall, therebyforming three comparatively large pockets, one of which as 15 may be employed for holding the mail collected, another as 16, for large parcelsand the like, while the intermediate pocket 17 is designed to hold theusual collectors book.

A bottom 18, formed of bellows folds is secured to the lower edge ofeach of the intermediate walls, and to the front and rear walls. One ofthe bellows folds of the bottom is located between each set of walls,and said bottom is entirely separate from the partitions. A cover 19 iscarried by the rear wall 8, and is arranged to be passed entirely overthe open upper ends of the various pockets. The front pockets are,however, provided with independent covers in the form of flaps, 20, eachfiap covering one of the pockets, as will be evident by reference toFig. 1. It will be noted, by reference to Fig. 4, that in thisembodiment of the invention, the

/ lower edges of the front and rear walls are disposed in the samehorizontal plane, but that each of the intermediate walls issuccessively disposed higher than the one preceding it. By thisarrangement, the open up per ends of the pockets are exposed one behindthe other, as shown in Fig. 3, and on said exposed ends, the names ofthe patrons may be printed. At the same time, by having the lower edgesof the front and rear walls disposed in the same horizontal plane, thepouch may be set upon a table or on a vehicle, and will maintam itsupright position.

For the purpose of holding the pouch in place on a vehicle, a pair ofspaced overhanging and downwardly extending hooks 21 are employed, whichare carried by the rear. wall 8, and are arranged to be engaged over thedash of the vehicle. For the purpose of preventing the lateral slidingmovement of the pouch, a dashembracing strap 22 may be employed, whichis also carried by the rear wall, and is located below the hooks 21.Handles 23 are provided for conveniently carrying the pouch between thestation and the vehicle.

In using the device, it is first placed in the station, the cover isturned back, and the front and rear walls are moved away from each otherso as to fully expand the pockets. In this connection it will beobserved that because of the particular structure, the lower portions ofsaid pocketswill expand coextensively with the upper portions. Thecarrier then distributes the mail to be delivered into the variouspockets, and afterwards places the pouch in position upon the vehicle.He thus has all the mail before him, and as he drives over his route,each patrons matter can be con veniently delivered from its particularpocket. Moreover, the pockets being comparatively capacious, the handmay be readily inserted to the bottom thereof, and no small articlesoverlooked. One of the front pockets may if desired be employed forlarger parcels, and the mail collected can be placed in another, whilethe intermediate front pocket constitutes a convenient holder for thecarriers book. As the mail is delivered from the pouch, the same can becollapsed, and thus placed more and more out of the way.

As an indication of how the structure may be modified, attention isinvited to Figs. 5 and 6, wherein front is believed to be necessary.

and rear stiffened walls '7 and 8* are employed, together withintermediate parallel walls 9 of flexible material. End walls 10"connect the ends of the various walls 7, 8 and 9. Said end walls in thisparticular embodiment, are composed of sections, the intermediate walls9 having extensions or offset marmargins, as shown at'15, andhavingstrip's 16* secured thereto, which strips'are in turn sewed orotherwise fastened to the adjacent walls, thus the bottom isprovidedwith bellows folds, one of said bellows foldsbeing disposedbetween each s'et'of walls. It will be observed that the bottom in thisstructure is disposed horizontally, and that the inclined arrangementillustrated in Fig. 4 is not provided. A cover 17 is employed for theopen upper end ofthe pouch, and independent flaps 18 are provided forthe front larger pockets. Dash-engaging hooks 19 are provided, the

same as in the first described embodiment, and'a dashembracing strap 20'may also be employed. Handles 21 are furthermore secured to the frontand rear walls for the purp'ose of conveniently carrying the device. Itwill be apparent that this structure has practically the same advantagesas those already set forth for the former embodiment, and no furtherdescription thereof From the foregoing, it is thought that theconstruction, operation, and many advantages of the herein describedinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without furtherdescription, and it will be understood that various changes in the size,shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted towithin the limits of the claims without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. I Having thus fullydescribed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is: Y I I 1. In a pouch of the character described, t hecoinbiria tion with a plurality of walls movable toward andfrom eachother, of a collapsible bottom connecting the lower ends of the walls,and a plurality of partitions located between and secured to adjacentwalls, forming a plurality of collapsible pockets, said partitions beingindependent of "the bottom to'permit the lower-portions of the walls toseparate substantially co-extensively with the upper portions.

2. In a pouch of the character described, the combination with aplurality of walls movable toward and from each other, of a plurality ofcollapsible partitions between the adjacent wallsconne'cted'thereto'and'having bellows folds, and a collapsible bottomconnecting the lower ends of the walls and also having bellows folds,said partitions being independent of the folds of the collapsiblebottom, and permitting the free expansion and contraction of said foldsand the consequent coextensive separation'of the lower and upperportions of the walls.

3. In a pouch of the character described, the combination withreinforced and stiff outer walls having their lower and upper portionsmovable toward and from each other, of collapsible end walls connectingthe ends of the outer and intermediate walls, a collapsible bottomsecured to the outer and intermediate walls, and c'ollapsible partitionsconnecting each set of adjacent walls and forming a row of pocketstherebetween, said partitions having their lower ends free fromthe'bottom, thereby permitting the free opening and closing of thebottom and the coextensive separation of the lower and upper portions ofthe walls.

4. In a pouch of the character described, the combination withreinforced stifi outer walls, of flexible intermediate walls. having aplurality of connections between each adjacent set to fol-ma pluralityof pockets between each set, a collapsible bottom, and an extensible andcontractible dash-embracing strap secured at its ends to one of theouter reinforced walls.

5. In a pouch of the character described, the combination with aplurality of walls having a plurality of connections between them toform a plurality of rows of pockets, a collapsible bottom connecting thewalls, a cover for all the pockets, and a plurality of independentcovers for one of the rows of pockets. 7

6. In a pouch of the character described, the combination with stiffrear and front walls having lower edges disposed in substantially thesame horizontal plane, of a plurality of intermediate flexible wallsdisposed successively one higher than the other and having connectionsbetween them forming a plurality of rows of pockets, a collapsiblebottom connecting the walls and located at an inclination,'a covercarried by the rear wall and arranged to extend over the variouspockets, a plurality of flaps for independently covering the front rowof pockets, and

means carried by the rear wall for securing the structure to a vehicledash.

7. In a pouch of the character described, the combination with aplurality of walls, of means securing adjacent walls together at theirends and bottoms, forming bellows folds and permitting the walls to-movetoward and from each other, and a plurality of collapsible partitionsbetween the adjacent walls connected thereto and having bellows foldsforming a plurality of collapsible pockets movable toward and from eachother, said partitions having their lower ends spaced and free from thebottom, pen mitting the coextensive separation of all parts of theadjacent walls.

8. In a pouch, the combination with a plurality of walls having offsetend and bottom margins, of strips secured to the end and bottom portionsof the walls and secured to the offset end and bottom margins of theadjacent walls, forming collapsible connections between the walls.

9. In a pouch, the combination with a plurality of walls having offsetend and bottom margins, of strips secured to the end and bottom portionsof the walls inside said margins, said strips being secured to theoffset end and bottom margins of the adjacent walls, forming bellowsfolds between the walls, and a plurality of collapsible partitionssecured to and between intermediate portions of said adjacent walls.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. ALTMYER.

Witnesses A. L. SMITH, J. H. WHIT'IAKER.

